In early primary education and specially childhood education routines constitute learning situations that children develop daily, in a stable and permanent way. Efficient routines make it easier for students to learn and achieve more. In ages between 3 and 8 years old it is basic to respect the principles of the cognitive and social development, maintaining a time organization as natural as possible, without forcing activity rhythms and maintaining some specific and temporary constants. These temporary constants, we think that are marked by daily routines that became into defined and systematic situations that are going to happen very often during the day and the day passing. Children need these routines to have always the same sequence so as to feel secure and reach high levels of autonomy and personal equilibrium. Routines differ from teacher to teacher and from class to class, so routines are an individual thing, each teacher uses what's best for him/her and his/her pupils. Routines also eliminate many potential disruptions and problem situations. So definitely, routines help teachers and students equally.
WHICH ARE THE ROUTINES?
Routines are the entrance, welcoming, reencounter and farewell activities. During these four great moments, children meet with their classmates and the teacher or adult in order to make some activities just like:
-The meeting moment: includes the welcoming, the appointment of the day manager, the register of the temporal referents (day of the week, month, year, weather, classroom rules…), the preparation of needed resources and the introduction of the day learning.
-Distribution of resources and materials needed: that require the day manager intervention and the ones in charge of distributing the stuff for the day tasks (before beginning).
-The free time moment:this is an expansive and free experience in which pupils loose themselves with autonomy, play according preferences, interact with the others, manage conducts and suppress fatigue.
-Developing activities and tasks in certain corners: include the identification and signaling of the corner of the day and the task development association which is going to be developed…
-The clean up moment, it is like a share activity that includes classification and order of the elements and objects on its right place.
-The farewell moment: that announces the end of the lesson, the end of the school day…
THIS IS ONE EXAMPLE OF DAILY ROUTINES PLAN WE CAN DEVELOP AND PRACTICE:
a. Morning greetings: “Hello kids”, “How are you today”…
b. Work with a pet: Skippy.
c. Establish a specific task development corner in the classroom: Reading Area.
d. Remember a song, rhyme or game already known: “Dicky birds rhyme”.
e. Introduction of new elements. Concepts, stories, games, rhymes, friends of Skippy…: “Deep, deep under the sea”.
f. Work with the new elements treated, involving all of them. Review work activity: Skippy says: ...
g. Tidy the classroom: “Clean up” song performance.
h. Dismiss moment (closure of the day lesson: “Goodbye kids, have a nice weekend” (using Skippy).
THE CLASSROOM PET:
This course we have been tought to use a classroom pet as a mediator that at the same helps us to introduce some of our routines or tasks. Teachers have to make pupils feel that they are their friends but not always is very easy with many children so puppets can be used due to improve interactions, ease communication between the pupils and the teacher like a bridge. Pupils use to feel puppets as a friend not a distant element. Classroom pets stimulate pupils' attention and do not intimidate them or feel it as an intimidating element. P uppets as pets can motivate and support children with difficulties in communication and interaction. The one we used as a reference in our lesson was called Skippy, and it was based on the following picture:
Here I link one video about one teacher that uses a puppet due to help him to tell stories in classroom and help him with routines:
I found a good book that instructs us about how to use and select a puppet as our Classroom pet. Click on the link below: Book
RESOURCES:
Here I drop some resources that can be used in different transitions:
ROUTINES
WHAT ARE ROUTINES?
In early primary education and specially childhood education routines constitute learning situations that children develop daily, in a stable and permanent way. Efficient routines make it easier for students to learn and achieve more.
In ages between 3 and 8 years old it is basic to respect the principles of the cognitive and social development, maintaining a time organization as natural as possible, without forcing activity rhythms and maintaining some specific and temporary constants.
These temporary constants, we think that are marked by daily routines that became into defined and systematic situations that are going to happen very often during the day and the day passing.
Children need these routines to have always the same sequence so as to feel secure and reach high levels of autonomy and personal equilibrium.
Routines differ from teacher to teacher and from class to class, so routines are an individual thing, each teacher uses what's best for him/her and his/her pupils.
Routines also eliminate many potential disruptions and problem situations.
So definitely, routines help teachers and students equally.
WHICH ARE THE ROUTINES?
Routines are the entrance, welcoming, reencounter and farewell activities.
During these four great moments, children meet with their classmates and the teacher or adult in order to make some activities just like:
-The meeting moment: includes the welcoming, the appointment of the day manager, the register of the temporal referents (day of the week, month, year, weather, classroom rules…), the preparation of needed resources and the introduction of the day learning.
-Distribution of resources and materials needed: that require the day manager intervention and the ones in charge of distributing the stuff for the day tasks (before beginning).
-The free time moment:this is an expansive and free experience in which pupils loose themselves with autonomy, play according preferences, interact with the others, manage conducts and suppress fatigue.
-Developing activities and tasks in certain corners: include the identification and signaling of the corner of the day and the task development association which is going to be developed…
-The clean up moment, it is like a share activity that includes classification and order of the elements and objects on its right place.
-The farewell moment: that announces the end of the lesson, the end of the school day…
THIS IS ONE EXAMPLE OF DAILY ROUTINES PLAN WE CAN DEVELOP AND PRACTICE:
THE CLASSROOM PET:
This course we have been tought to use a classroom pet as a mediator that at the same helps us to introduce some of our routines or tasks.
Teachers have to make pupils feel that they are their friends but not always is very easy with many children so puppets can be used due to improve interactions, ease communication between the pupils and the teacher like a bridge. Pupils use to feel puppets as a friend not a distant element.
Classroom pets stimulate pupils' attention and do not intimidate them or feel it as an intimidating element. P
uppets as pets can motivate and support children with difficulties in communication and interaction.
The one we used as a reference in our lesson was called Skippy, and it was based on the following picture:
Here I link one video about one teacher that uses a puppet due to help him to tell stories in classroom and help him with routines:
I found a good book that instructs us about how to use and select a puppet as our Classroom pet. Click on the link below:
Book
RESOURCES:
Here I drop some resources that can be used in different transitions:
Hello moment:
Clean up moment:
I Here I grab you one PDF about using Puppets in English classes:
INTERESTING LINKS:
http://charomartineztovareduca.blogspot.com/2009/09/cartells-normes.html
(Blog that contains a good PowerPoint to take into reference with some school routines). This site is in Spanish & catalan.
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/class-management/routines-organisation/#.TxjEyKXj6TI (Resources web for routines and classroom organization)
http://www.languagesresources.co.uk/FrenchDailyRoutine.html
(Resources web for routines, including Power Points and Word docs)
http://planningwithkids.com/2009/02/06/creating-a-childrens-timetable/
(This web site shows you how to design a timetable)
http://blog.puppetstoyou.com/
(Some information & resources about the world of using pets/puppets in classroom)
OTHER INTERESTING VIDEOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnGKfOX5bVQ&feature=related (What´s the weather like song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWWz0aq0aR4 (Well explained goodbye song simple)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrrA9j51tQ0&feature=watch_response (Transition song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwxO0bt1Qgo&feature=related (clean up song by Barney)
Videos from Scholastic web site:
Hello moment:
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=268
Transition moment:
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=270
Farewell moment:
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=271
GIVEN RESOURCES:
The next video will offer ideas on welcome routines
Classroom pictures and organization
Use this link to organize your ideas. If you want you can follow the complete workshop, but , for the moment sessions you have 1-2-4 and 13.
Use these links where you can get free suggestions on classroom displays
Communication4all **Sparklebox** **Instant Displays**